Published in Animal Cognition, this study used eye-tracking technology to compare how unrestrained dogs and humans perceive emotional expressions presented through dynamic, naturalistic visual stimuli of both species. The aim was to understand whether emotion recognition in dogs prioritizes facial or bodily information, and how these perceptual strategies differ from those of humans.
The results revealed a striking pattern: dogs focused primarily on body movements—posture, tension, and orientation—while humans concentrated on the face and eyes. This distinction was consistent across both human and dog models, suggesting that canine emotion recognition evolved to prioritize action-based and contextual cues over facial micro-expressions. Additionally, both species exhibited an age-related decline in head-focused gaze, implying that developmental factors influence emotional attention mechanisms.
Correia-Caeiro and colleagues interpret these findings as evidence of a species-specific perceptual adaptation. For dogs, reading the body may offer a more reliable signal of intent or emotional state—especially in complex or fast-changing environments. While domestication has enhanced dogs’ ability to interpret some human facial expressions, their core emotion-reading system remains rooted in movement and posture analysis.
This research underscores the importance of body language in interspecies communication. Understanding that dogs decode emotion primarily through physical dynamics, rather than facial cues, can improve human–dog interaction, training, and welfare by aligning communication styles with their natural perceptual strengths.
Source: Correia-Caeiro, C., Guo, K., & Mills, D. (2021). Bodily emotional expressions are a primary source of information for dogs, but not for humans. Animal Cognition, 24, 267–279. Published January 28, 2021.
